The C-band radar on-board the R.V. Ronald H. Brown was operated 24 hours/day during the EPIC ITCZ leg from 22:00 UTC on the 9th of September until 00:20 UTC on 2 October, 2001. The scanning strategy utilized a continuous 10 minute cycle with the following sequence:
1. 360° Rain scan
2. 360° Volume scan (FAR, EVAD, or NEAR)
3. RHI 's (optional)
Details on each radar scan are provided in the tables below.
Scan: Rain
| Angles (°) | 0.5, 1.3, 2.1 |
| Resolution (°) | 1.0 |
| Pulse Width (usec) | 2.0 |
| Antenna Speed (°/sec) | 18 |
| Sampled Variables | T, Z, V, W |
| Number of Samples | 55 |
| Number of Bins | 1200 |
| Gate spaceing (m) | 250 |
| Max Range (km) | 300 |
| PRF (/s) | 500 |
| Unambiguous Velocity (m/s) | 6.7 |
| Major Mode | PPP |
| Variable Thresholds | T: LOG, Z: LOG&CSR, V:SQI&CSR, W: SIG&SQI&LOG |
| LOG (dB) | 0.8 |
| SIG (dB) | 10 |
| CSR (dB) | 18 |
| SQI | 0.4 |
| Speckle | Z on, V on |
Scan: FAR
| Angles (°) | 0.5, 1.3, 2.1, 2.9, 3.6, 4.5, 5.4, 6.4, 7.4, 8.5, 9.8, 11.2, 12.8, 14.8, 16.8, 19.2, 22.2, 26.0, 30.0, 35.0 |
| Resolution (°) | 1.0 |
| Pulse Width (usec) | 1.2 |
| Antenna Speed (°/sec) | 18 |
| Sampled Variables | T, Z, V, W |
| Number of Samples | 55 |
| Number of Bins | 600 |
| Gate spaceing (m) | 250 |
| Max Range (km) | 150 |
| PRF (/s) | 910 |
| Unambiguous Velocity (m/s) | 12.2 |
| Major Mode | RPHASE |
| Variable Thresholds | T: LOG, Z: LOG&CSR, V:SQI&CSR, W: SIG&SQI&LOG |
| LOG (dB) | 0.8 |
| SIG (dB) | 10 |
| CSR (dB) | 18 |
| SQI | 0.4 |
| Speckle | Z off, V off |
Scan: EVAD
| Angles (°) | 0.8, 1.5, 3.2, 5.5, 7.9, 10.3, 12.7, 15.1, 17.6, 20.0, 22.6, 25.1, 27.8, 30.5, 33.2, 36.1, 39.1, 42.2, 45.4, 48.9, 53.4 |
| Resolution (°) | 1.0 |
| Pulse Width (usec) | 1.2 |
| Antenna Speed (°/sec) | 18 |
| Sampled Variables | T, Z, V, W |
| Number of Samples | 55 |
| Number of Bins | 600 |
| Gate spaceing (m) | 250 |
| Max Range (km) | 150 |
| PRF (/s) | 910 |
| Unambiguous Velocity (m/s) | 12.2 |
| Major Mode | RPHASE |
| Variable Thresholds | T: LOG, Z: LOG&CSR, V:SQI&CSR, W: SIG&SQI&LOG |
| LOG (dB) | 0.8 |
| SIG (dB) | 10 |
| CSR (dB) | 18 |
| SQI | 0.4 |
| Speckle | Z off, V off |
Scan: NEAR
| Angles (°) | 0.5, 1.3, 2.1, 3.0, 4.2, 5.7, 7.4, 9.0, 11.0, 15.0, 18.0, 22.0, 26.0, 30.0, 34.0, 39.0, 44.0, 50.0, 55.0, 60.0 |
| Resolution (°) | 1.0 |
| Pulse Width (usec) | 1.2 |
| Antenna Speed (°/sec) | 18 |
| Sampled Variables | T, Z, V, W |
| Number of Samples | 55 |
| Number of Bins | 600 |
| Gate spaceing (m) | 250 |
| Max Range (km) | 150 |
| PRF (/s) | 910 |
| Unambiguous Velocity (m/s) | 12.2 |
| Major Mode | RPHASE |
| Variable Thresholds | T: LOG, Z: LOG&CSR, V:SQI&CSR, W: SIG&SQI&LOG |
| LOG (dB) | 0.8 |
| SIG (dB) | 10 |
| CSR (dB) | 18 |
| SQI | 0.4 |
| Speckle | Z off, V off |
Vaisala soundings were launched 6 times/day from the fantail of the ship. The nominal launch times (i.e., approximate times when the sounding reached the tropopause) were:
| Time (UTC) | Time (L) |
| 00:00 | 18:00 |
| 04:00 | 22:00 |
| 08:00 | 02:00 |
| 12:00 | 06:00 |
| 16:00 | 10:00 |
| 20:00 | 14:00 |
Note -the actual release time was approximately 1.25 hours prior to the nominal launch time. For example, the 00:00 UTC (18:00 L) sounding was actually released at about 22:45 UTC (16:45 L).
